Old-time fiddling

Fiddling with life and learning with the occasional dad joke thrown in…

 

 

Alternate between listening and playing

Here’s a simple but extremely powerful practice strategy to develop your ear and improve your technique. Take a small piece of music, and then alternate between listening and playing that piece. If possible, do it continuously in a loop. This practice is training you to listen constantly stop and listen. Do your best to make … Continued

Alternate between a tune and its scale

Here’s a simple yet powerful practice technique: Alternate between a tune and its scale. If you’re practicing Arkansas Traveller, alternate between playing the tune and the D Major scale. Use a D drone to help with tuning and to make the practice more fun. Also alternate between playing small phrases from the tune and the … Continued

What did you have for dinner last night?

When learning something new, try this trick. Pause on that new or challenging thing and try to remember what you had for dinner last night. Really try to picture it. How much time did it take to prepare it? What time did you eat? When was the last time you had that meal? How did … Continued

Figure 8 Bowing on Mary Had A Little Lamb

I’ve been practicing the figure 8 bowing, trying it out on simple things like Mary Had a Little Lamb. In the last office hours livestream I talked about it some. Later this year, I’d might  create a full lesson with exercises if you are interested. Let me know in a comment below…     View … Continued